When I travel, I usually look for the most authentic things: food, points of interest, markets, as well as transport. First, because I would like to see the place from a local point of view, immerse in the culture, learn about it and understand it as much as possible. Second, you avoid paying extra just because you’re a tourist, especially in poorer places, where people are highly dependant on tourism and on the money that tourists leave there.
In Zanzibar, one such truly local experience was using the public transport, the daladala. Tourists usually get around by taxi, as they are not too expensive from a European perspective, comfortable, air-conditioned and reliable in terms of timing. But if you would like to go to multiple places, and you don’t necessarily have anyone to share the costs with, it might get expensive, and for that money, you can do a lot more (budget traveller thinking 🙂 ) So I opted for the daladala, which is either like a minibus or a truck with benches in the bed. Regardless which one you travel on, the universal rule is to squeeze yourself as small as possible, actually even more than you’d think is possible, and be ready to get really close to other people.
If you’re lucky, you might get seated in the front, next to the driver, where you can actually enjoy the ride. I think it somewhat counts that you’re white, but not always. Wherever you sit, be prepared for the curious looks of the local. Especially if you sit in the front, not only the new passengers notice you, but also the people in the streets. Children wave and smile at you, or some get shy and turn away, people stare at you with wide eyes, almost like they don’t believe what they see. Especially when crossing small villages, where really no white people turn up, the least on a daladala. I’m not sure how I felt about it: first, it was exciting and made me laugh, but after a while it could be embarrassing to be the object of staring all the time.
If you’re “lucky” enough to travel in the bed of a truck, you can expect the following things:
- the benches are very low, so long legs are definitely a disadvantage
- the side rail of the truck will break your back, and hit your spine at every pothole
- if 10 average people would fit comfortably, the real capacity is at least 15-20, many are Zanzibari women, who are usually not too thin, travelling with babies or children, and with their big baskets of laundry, buckets of goods, maybe big buckets of fish (each of them).
- by the end of your journey, your legs are pulled up towards your chest saving your feet and toes from anything heavy landing on them, squeezing your backpack in your lap, your butt is completely numb and your back sores, you sweated all the water out, and you breathed all the dust from the road
But you’re more than happy when you get to get off, you feel all your 171 cms again, and the senses come back into your legs. By the next day, or even by some hours later, you forget all the sufferings, and you happily wait for the next daladala, as it’s only 1 hour (or so), and it’s so cheap….also thinking that if you survived it once, you can do it again. You obviously regret it after 10 minutes, especially when your heavily sunburnt body aches at every touch, but it’s too late by then. And you repeat it again and again. I took it ca. 7 times during my holiday, thankfully, usually either with a local guy or with a fellow adventurous traveller: to the Spice farm and back (about which you can read more in one of my earlier posts), to Kizimkazi beach to swim with dolphins and back, to my new accommodation in Pingwe, and then to Kae Funk, the beach where I celebrated my birthday.
There was only one occasion when I felt a bit lost. I was moving from one accommodation to another on the other side of the island, and even though I had a distinctive point, the famous Rock restaurant, where I needed to get off, and I told this to the driver and the controller, they somehow forgot about it. So I missed the place, and ended up somewhere in the middle of nowhere at the final stop. The driver and the controller looked at me with a surprised look; no other passenger left but me. I had no idea where I am, they spoke only little English, so it definitely wasn’t a comfort zone-friendly situation. But when they understood where I was heading to, they pointed me to another daladala, that was about to leave in 10-15 minutes, and I didn’t need to pay for it. So it was a happy-ending, and by now, it’s just another good story.
Finally, here are some rules and advice for taking the daladala:
- make sure you know where you go exactly, because there are several lines crossing the island, and there are no specific stops along the lines, you can stop anywhere you want
- ask the driver and/or the controller if they really go where you need to, and negotiate the price in advance; otherwise, you can end up with a high fee and some angry people
- an average ride (10-20 minutes, to a neighbouring town/village) should cost about 300 Tanzanian shillings –> try to stick to this price, but expect some extra coming on top thanks to your pale complexion
- on longer rides, expect a higher price, it might be worth having a quick look at how much the locals handing over to the controller, and just giving the same amount without asking about it separately
- you pay at the end of your journey, or towards the end
- don’t be afraid of haggling, it’s part of the game, but you need to be confident about how much it may cost, what may still be a realistic price, and decide on your limits in advance. If it gets to unrealistic heights and/or they want to charge double-price because you’re travelling with a big backpack (true story), be prepared to get out of the daladala; threatening them with leaving usually makes them more agreeable
- don’t be afraid of the people; smile, be nice, respectful, and benefit from the ride with observing how the local behave, how they dress, what things they carry, how they help each other, etc.
I might have painted taking the daladala as a horrible adventure, but in fact, it is a real cultural experience. It is the only public transport in Zanzibar, that’s how people commute to work, go to places, so basically it’s one slice of their everyday lives and experience. Moreover, you also improve your skills: haggling, social skills, coping with unexpected situations, confidence, and testing your physical and psychological limits. At least give it a try! 🙂
A magyar verzióért kattints ide!